The Mother of Mount Wu, Lu Yun, and the remaining five figures slowly approached the mire after the virulent green miasma had receded.
Ji Changkong observed them closely for a moment before realizing that the Mother of Mount Wu was clearly the leader of the seven; the six others, including Lu Yun, were either her disciples or her retainers.
It was evident in the utmost respect shown by the six toward the Mother of Mount Wu.
The moment the seven reached the edge of the mire, Yu Ziling suddenly sprang from her hiding place. Separated by the muddy expanse, she bounced and jumped, shouting loudly, lest the seven across the way fail to see her.
“Old hag, come on! Your grand-auntie is right here! Keep chasing me, why don’t you!” Yu Ziling waved her hand triumphantly and merrily, cursing with delight: “You old slut who only knows how to seduce beggars and frequent brothels… Come on, come kill me!”
The Mother of Mount Wu staggered, nearly falling to the ground. Her aged face turned ashen, her whole body trembling as she pointed a finger at Yu Ziling across the mire and stammered, “Kill… Kill her! Hurry up and kill her!”
The six, led by Lu Yun, their faces drawn and grim, charged forward recklessly toward them.
Ji Changkong stood frozen like a wooden statue, staring dumbfounded at Yu Ziling as she cheerfully swayed her slender waist from side to side.
Yu Ziling clearly recognized the Mother of Mount Wu, and it seemed the hatred between them ran even deeper than hers with him.
“Old ghost! Old slut! Old **!” Yu Ziling continued her barrage of curses, switching up her taunts while jumping and skipping, each phrase more venomous than the last.
Watching the Mother of Mount Wu looking as if she might spit blood from sheer rage, Ji Changkong suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction, no longer caring how despicable Yu Ziling had been in deceiving him.
“The little kept boy of six old sluts! Come on, hurry up and kill your grandma!” Seeing the Mother of Mount Wu’s face turn pale, Yu Ziling shifted her target and smoothly continued her tirade.
Lu Yun and the five others paid heed to nothing else. They couldn't see the traps ahead, nor the massive net suspended over the mire. Each one summoned a fierce energy, charging forward with utter disregard for their lives.
Swish!
Before one man could even approach the trap, he launched himself off the ground, soaring into the air like a great bird, clearing the traps set by Yu Ziling and Ji Changkong, and descending toward the pair.
“Wang Yuan, watch out above!”
The Mother of Mount Wu suddenly cried out sharply. The moment the man launched himself, she sensed a surge of Yuan Power emanating from above the mire, finally noticing the giant net.
Bang!
Wang Yuan’s body momentarily expanded as if he were a balloon, bathed in a brilliant golden light that suddenly emanated from him. Then, he violently struck the giant net above the mire.
Countless fine lacerations crisscrossed his body. He momentarily stalled, then plummeted heavily toward the mire!
The giant net did not tear him limb from limb as it had the Blood-Patterned Giant Crocodile. Wang Yuan, who cultivated the Metal Force of the Five Elements, possessed a physical toughness far exceeding that of the creature. The net only left a series of fine bloody scratches on him, but failed to end his life.
Puff, puff, puff! Puff, puff!
The other five, led by Lu Yun, were less fortunate. Their starting positions were slightly further ahead. As they powerfully pushed off the ground, intending to vault into the air, they suddenly found their footing empty beneath them, causing their bodies to accelerate and sink into the mire.
“Yeah! Yeah!”
Yu Ziling made victory signs with both hands, shouting loudly, continuing to hurl the most vicious insults at the Mother of Mount Wu and the seven figures, possessing boundless energy.
Sizzle, sizzle!
A strange sound echoed from the bottom of the mire. Having caught the scent of fresh blood, the school of Blood-Patterned Giant Crocodiles began to stir again. They had just finished devouring the flesh of five of their brethren at the bottom of the pool and were in high spirits. The smell of blood above immediately prompted them to move as a group once more.
“Careful, there are Blood-Patterned Giant Crocodiles at the bottom of the mire!”
Someone shrieked in agony, frantically clawing at his legs. The area bubbled with blood, and it was unclear whether he had killed a crocodile or if one had bitten him.
“You little whore… I’ll kill you!”
The Mother of Mount Wu shrieked fiercely, sending a palm strike toward the air above the mire. Three shimmering points of starlight glowed brilliantly, shooting toward Yu Ziling like lightning.
Yu Ziling abruptly ceased her shouting, stuck out her tongue, and her expression grew solemn. She immediately sat cross-legged on the spot, and behind her, the phantom image of the Vermilion Bird—her Sacred Beast—erupted in blazing fire and suddenly shot forward!
Above the mire, the giant net woven from beast bones instantly caught fire!
As the intense flames ignited, the net transformed into a terrifying, burning grimace, and the individual bones pulled themselves free from the leafy undergrowth, sharp bone spikes stabbing out from all directions toward the Mother of Mount Wu.
One point of starlight suddenly expanded and split into several beams, blasting the fiery grimace net into smithereens. The fragments clashed violently against the massive bone spikes with loud crackling sounds.
The other two points of starlight shot directly toward the giant phantom of the Sacred Beast Vermilion Bird. Where the starlight met the roaring flames, a dazzling spectacle erupted, scattering sparks of fire everywhere, as beautiful and bewitching as fireworks.
Ji Changkong had never witnessed a battle between powerful Celestial Masters. At this moment, watching the sky filled with dazzling points of light and feeling the terrifying Yuan Power fluctuations clash and reverberate within them, he finally grasped just how formidable a true Celestial Master could be.
The streaks of fire and starlight splashed down toward the mire, incinerating several Blood-Patterned Giant Crocodiles. Those crocodiles seemed to realize there were terrifying anomalies present that they could not possibly contend with; they dared not continue attacking the six men trapped in the mire, instead tearing at the corpses of their fallen comrades and silently retreating into the depths of the pool.
“Go! The Old Hag is too strong! I’m only a ** Celestial Master, and even with my divine weapon, I’m no match for her!” Yu Ziling suddenly whispered, her face wearing a severity he hadn't seen before. “While she’s occupied, lead the way, we need to leave immediately!”
Ji Changkong gave a sharp start, suddenly snapping back to reality. Without a word, he turned and fled the glittering, bewildering mire at top speed.
Yu Ziling followed closely behind, sticking tightly to Ji Changkong.
They had traveled barely a hundred zhang when the phantom image of the Sacred Beast Vermilion Bird above the mire suddenly vanished without a trace.
The giant grimace net, woven from bone segments, also suddenly flew apart in all directions, the bones darting into the complex, hard-to-navigate branches with startling agility.
The Mother of Mount Wu trembled with rage, sending a wisp of starlight to blast one of the fleeing bones.
Smack!
The bone was hit by the starlight, but instead of shattering, it merely wobbled and continued its escape, which was extremely bizarre.
“Master, Xiao Shan’s waist was bitten clean through by a Blood-Patterned Giant Crocodile; he won’t make it. And Ji Yun lost an arm!” Lu Yun reported grimly after the Mother of Mount Wu hauled him out of the mire.
“That little whore… that little whore, I will grind her bones to dust!” The Mother of Mount Wu muttered, her expression chillingly sinister.
...
Beside a clearing lake, Yu Ziling sat down next to Ji Changkong, visibly exhausted.
Holding a bone segment in one hand, she sighed mournfully: “Why are you so clumsy? Everyone else was fine, only you got hit! What have I been teaching you? When you flee, you must be fast and cunning; you absolutely cannot let anyone predict where you are running! Tell me, how could you be so dense? And you wasted so much of my precious materials! If you’re this stupid next time, I’ll find a different Bone Spirit to use…”
The large bone segment in her hand shook continuously, and a low humming sound emanated from the thumb-sized pores along its surface.
“Stop making excuses. She didn’t hit anyone else, so why did she single you out?” Yu Ziling scoffed, slapping the bone hard. The segment immediately quieted down, daring not to move.
Looking helpless, she pulled out a small vial. She dripped a few drops of black, gray, and green liquid into it, then crushed a Yuan Stone and tossed it in. Finally, she looked eagerly at Ji Changkong, pleading, “Partner, lend me a drop of blood. This mixture needs a drop of blood to neutralize the medicinal properties.”
“Use your own,” Ji Changkong refused.
“Please! I fought that old hag for so long just now; I’m too depleted now, I can’t spare any blood!” Yu Ziling stared at Ji Changkong with a pitiful gaze, begging him relentlessly, as if she wouldn't stop until he lent her the blood.
...
Half an hour later, Ji Changkong, unable to stand her pestering any longer, picked up the small needle she offered and pricked his middle finger. Seeing a drop of crimson blood well up, he walked over to Yu Ziling and let it drip into the strange-colored liquid in her hand.
Gurgle!
The moment Ji Changkong’s crimson blood entered the vial, the liquid inside suddenly began to boil furiously. In an instant, the color of the liquid in the vial shockingly turned purple.
“How strange, why is it purple? Your blood is clearly red, it should be red too…” Yu Ziling murmured, holding the vial. After a moment of hesitation, she poured the mixture directly onto the large bone segment in her other hand.
The purple liquid, mixed with a drop of Ji Changkong’s blood, fell onto the bone segment and was absorbed instantly, like water soaking into a sponge.
The vial was empty.
Suddenly, the bone segment began to shake violently, with immense force. Yu Ziling struggled to hold it, her body swaying with it, her slender waist, which possessed astonishing resilience, curving into breathtaking arcs.
“What’s wrong? What’s happening? What is it?” Yu Ziling’s face changed, and she asked anxiously.
Crack!
The bone snapped in two, one half falling onto the ground.
“Dead… dead? How is it dead?” Yu Ziling was stunned, holding the half-segment of bone, murmuring to herself.
...
: Apologies, I was a bit slow today; I was held up by matters this afternoon.
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